Vote Vancouver: reverse the supportive housing ban, replace SROs, land trusts
Vote Vancouver would reverse what it calls the ban on new supportive housing, replace SROs with self-contained homes, include childcare and schools in new public housing, work with community land trusts and Hogan's Alley, and hold landlords to the city's maintenance standards.
HOUSING AND BELONGING · PAGE 12
Supportive and Community Housing: what the Policy Priorities says
This list closes Vote Vancouver's housing section under the heading "Vote Vancouver will...". It starts with what the party calls complete communities: new public housing that comes with access to childcare, schools and public spaces. The rest deals with people at risk of losing a safe home, and with groups that hold land for the community. The party ties two of the steps to Rebecca Bligh's work on council: her call to reverse the supportive housing ban and her Uplift the DTES motion.
The party's central promise here is to reverse what it calls the city's ban on building new supportive housing. Supportive housing is housing linked to on-site help such as mental health care, addiction support and job training. The party says the ban blocks work to replace single room occupancy hotels, or SROs, which are buildings of single rented rooms. It would replace SROs with self-contained homes, while letting the old buildings stay open until other homes are ready.
Vote Vancouver would also work with community land trusts, which are groups that hold land so the housing on it stays affordable. It names the Downtown Eastside Community Land Trust, the SRO Collaborative, the False Creek South Community Housing Trust and Hogan's Alley, and adds Indigenous housing with the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. Finally, it would hold landlords to the city's maintenance standards when buildings fall into serious disrepair. Council decides where supportive housing is approved and makes the city's rental and maintenance bylaws, so it can act on the ban and on landlord enforcement. The health and addiction services that supportive housing connects to are run by the Province, and the party says it would work with all levels of government on funding.
9 COMMITMENTS
What the party says it would do
Complete communities with childcare and schools
New public housing developments would include access to childcare, schools and public spaces.
- Who has the power
- City, with others Council plans city land and can require childcare space, but schools are run by the School Board and childcare operating money comes from the Province.
Reverse the ban on supportive housing
Vote Vancouver would reverse what it calls the ban on supportive housing, to create homes where people can be connected with mental health services, addiction supports, social work, employment and training. The party says the ban stops work to replace SROs with safe, dignified and affordable options, that Rebecca Bligh has already called for it to be reversed, and that funding and programs from other governments are already in place.
- Who has the power
- City, with others Council decides where supportive housing is approved, while the health and addiction services in it are provincial.
Replace SROs with self-contained housing
The party would replace existing SROs with dignified, self-contained, purpose-built housing, while allowing existing buildings to keep operating until reasonable alternatives are available.
- Who has the power
- City, with others Council approves what is built, but replacing SROs at scale depends on housing funding from other governments and non-profit operators.
Community land trusts and co-operative housing
Vote Vancouver would work with community land trusts and community groups to keep public land in community ownership, build co-operative housing and keep housing affordable.
- Who has the power
- City, with others Council decides how city land is leased, while the land trusts and co-ops are independent groups the city would work with.
Indigenous housing communities
The party would work to build more Indigenous housing communities in collaboration with the Musqueam Indian Band, the Squamish Nation and the Tsleil-Waututh Nation.
- Who has the power
- City, with others The city can offer land and approvals, but these projects depend on agreement with the three First Nations.
Downtown Eastside Community Land Trust and SRO Collaborative
Vote Vancouver would support the Downtown Eastside through its Community Land Trust and the SRO Collaborative, in line with Rebecca Bligh's Uplift the DTES motion, to keep housing affordable.
- Who has the power
- City, with others These are independent groups, so the city's part is support through land, grants and approvals.
False Creek South leases
The party would work with the False Creek South Community Housing Trust to review City leases and develop a solution to keep community and co-operative housing there over the long term.
- Who has the power
- City Council The platform describes these as City leases, so the city is the landlord and Council sets the lease terms.
Hogan's Alley community housing
Vote Vancouver would continue to support societies such as Hogan's Alley in establishing affordable community housing with integrated services and community centres through land trusts.
- Who has the power
- City, with others The city can support this work through land and approvals, while the society leads the project.
Hold landlords to maintenance standards
The party would hold landlords to the City's maintenance standards and take action when buildings fall into serious disrepair, in particular where life-safety risks threaten residents' ability to stay safely housed and can lead to displacement.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council makes the city's rental and maintenance bylaws and decides how they are enforced.
WHO WOULD HAVE TO ACT
Where the power sits for this chapter
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Questions about supportive and community housing
Does Vote Vancouver support supportive housing?
Yes. Vote Vancouver would reverse what it calls the ban on supportive housing, to create homes linked to mental health services, addiction supports, social work and job training. The party says Rebecca Bligh has already called for the ban to be reversed (Policy Priorities, page 12).
What would Vote Vancouver do with SRO hotels?
The party would replace existing single room occupancy hotels with dignified, self-contained, purpose-built housing. Existing SROs would keep operating until reasonable alternatives are available (Policy Priorities, page 12).
What is Vote Vancouver's plan for False Creek South co-ops?
Vote Vancouver would work with the False Creek South Community Housing Trust to review City leases and find a way to keep the community and co-operative housing there over the long term (Policy Priorities, page 12).
Does Vote Vancouver support Hogan's Alley?
The platform says the party would continue to support societies such as Hogan's Alley in creating affordable community housing with services and community centres through land trusts (Policy Priorities, page 12).
What would Vote Vancouver do about landlords who let buildings decay?
The party would hold landlords to the City's maintenance standards and act when buildings fall into serious disrepair, in particular where safety risks could force residents out of their homes (Policy Priorities, page 12).
What does Vote Vancouver mean by complete communities?
Vote Vancouver says new public housing developments would include access to childcare, schools and public spaces. The party calls this building complete communities (Policy Priorities, page 12).
Who decides whether Vancouver allows new supportive housing?
City Council decides where supportive housing is approved. The health, addiction and mental health services that go with it are run by the Province, and Vote Vancouver says it would work with all levels of government on funding (Policy Priorities, page 12).
ON THE BALLOT
The Vote Vancouver candidates behind this
Sources
Every commitment on this page comes from the party's own material, marked SAYS SO ITSELF. It proves what the party says it would do. Who holds each power is our own addition, from the sources listed after it.
- Vote Vancouver Policy Priorities SAYS SO ITSELFVote Vancouver · pages 12 · checked